Morning Skate -- Tampa Bay

Tuesday

Mar 30, 2010 at 12:01 AMMar 30, 2010 at 1:37 PM

Another Blue Jackets game, another NHL debut tonight. It's forward Tomas Kana's turn tonight against the Lightning. The Czech-winger will play on an all-Syracuse line tonight with Mike Blunden and Trevor Frischmon.

Kana is an interesting story. He was the No. 31 overall pick by the Blues in 2006. He was obtained in the deal that brought to defenseman Brendan Bell from the St. Louis organization. Kana has 15 goals and 13 assists in 49 games since being promoted from the ECHL's Alaska Aces.

How did a 22-year-old high draft pick wind up in the E?

Kana did himself no favors reporting too Blues camp last season out of shape. He was overweight and struggling with his diet. He loved pizza and Pepsi, not a good combination for a pro hockey player.

He came into camp in better shape this season -- Kana is a thick 6-foot, 202 pounds -- but he remained buried on the Blues depth chart. The Jackets were considering leaving him in the ECHL when they acquired him, but assistant general manager Chris MacFarland decided to play him in Syracuse.

The kid has an NHL-caliber wrist shot, at least that's what management says, but he's added a physical presence to his game since joining Syracuse. Kana lives with tough guy Jon Mirasty and the friendship apparently has paid dividends.

"He has shown me a few moves," Kana said laughing.

Defenseman Grant Clitsome said Kana's chippy play had become quite noticeable in recent weeks. He got in a fight on March 24. He also had four minor-league fights last season.

-- Jackets coach Claude Noel is interested to see how his club responds tonight after another win over Chicago. You'll remember, the Jackets didn't start playing until the 15-minute mark on Saturday after they fell behind the Islanders 2-0. The Jackets need to "respect" each other and play a more defensively-responsible game. They saw the Isles as two easy points and decided to trade chances with them, getting sucked into the high-risk game the Isles like to play. The Jackets will need a more responsible start tonight.

-- The Lightning will not have Ryan Malone (knee) in the lineup. He has not played since March 11.